12 picks · data-backed ranking
Best homelab apps to self-host
The best homelab apps to self-host are Jellyfin for media servers, Immich for photo galleries and Syncthing for file sync & storage. Jellyfin leads with 58,727 GitHub stars.
One pick per category: media servers, photo galleries, file sync & storage, password managers, home automation & IoT, network utilities & DNS, personal dashboards, self-hosting platforms, backup, music streaming, e-books and bookmarks & link sharing.
Updated · data from GitHub, refreshed daily
Top picks
- Rank 1:
Jellyfin
jellyfin/jellyfin
Media server for audio, video, books, comics, and photos with a sleek interface and robust transcoding capabilities. Almost all modern platforms have clients, including Roku, Android TV, iOS, and…
Active · last commit Oct 28, 2026
FeaturedMedia ServersC#DockerStands out for an appsgit step-by-step deploy guide. Top pick for media servers: Jellyfin has 58,727 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 2,208 commits in the last year; it replaces Plex and Netflix.
- Rank 2:
Immich
immich-app/immich
Photo and video backup solution directly from your mobile phone (alternative to Google Photos).
Active · last commit Oct 28, 2026
FeaturedPhoto GalleriesTypeScriptDockerStands out for the most GitHub stars. Top pick for photo galleries: Immich has 117,454 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 2,902 commits in the last year; it replaces Google Photos and Adobe Photoshop.
- Rank 3:
Syncthing
syncthing/syncthing
Syncthing is an open source peer-to-peer file synchronisation tool.
Active · last commit Oct 28, 2026
File Sync & StorageGoDockerStands out for its Go codebase. Top pick for file sync & storage: Syncthing has 89,827 GitHub stars, uses the MPL-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 244 commits in the last year; it replaces Google Drive and Dropbox.
At a glance
Homelab apps to self-host compared
One pick per category: the top-ranked app in each on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits. Projects with fewer than 12 commits in the last 12 months rank below every more active project.
| App | Stands out for | License | GitHub stars | Commits (12 mo) | Last commit | Docker image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jellyfin | an appsgit step-by-step deploy guide | GPL-2.0 | 58,727 | 2,208 | Oct 28, 2026 | Yes |
| Immich | the most GitHub stars | AGPL-3.0 | 117,454 | 2,902 | Oct 28, 2026 | Yes |
| Syncthing | its Go codebase | MPL-2.0 | 89,827 | 244 | Oct 28, 2026 | Yes |
| Vaultwarden | its Rust codebase | AGPL-3.0 | 69,807 | 217 | Oct 25, 2026 | Yes |
| Home Assistant | the most commits in the last 12 months (21,554) | Apache-2.0 | 91,788 | 21,554 | Oct 28, 2026 | Yes |
| Pi-hole | – | EUPL-1.2 | 61,521 | 333 | Oct 27, 2026 | Yes |
| Grafana | – | AGPL-3.0 | 77,561 | 11,934 | Oct 28, 2026 | Yes |
| Coolify | – | Apache-2.0 | 65,110 | 5,095 | Oct 28, 2026 | Yes |
| Duplicati | – | MIT | 15,172 | 2,792 | Oct 27, 2026 | Yes |
| Navidrome Music Server | – | GPL-3.0 | 24,411 | 837 | Oct 26, 2026 | Yes |
Full ranking
All 12 picks, ranked
One pick per category: the top-ranked app in each on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits. Projects with fewer than 12 commits in the last 12 months rank below every more active project.
- 1
JellyfinFeatured
Media server for audio, video, books, comics, and photos with a sleek interface and robust transcoding capabilities. Almost all modern platforms have clients, including Roku, Android TV, iOS, and…
Media ServersDockerStands out for an appsgit step-by-step deploy guide. Top pick for media servers: Jellyfin has 58,727 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 2,208 commits in the last year; it replaces Plex and Netflix.
- 2
ImmichFeatured
Photo and video backup solution directly from your mobile phone (alternative to Google Photos).
Photo GalleriesDockerStands out for the most GitHub stars. Top pick for photo galleries: Immich has 117,454 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 2,902 commits in the last year; it replaces Google Photos and Adobe Photoshop.
- 3
Syncthing
Syncthing is an open source peer-to-peer file synchronisation tool.
File Sync & StorageDockerStands out for its Go codebase. Top pick for file sync & storage: Syncthing has 89,827 GitHub stars, uses the MPL-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 244 commits in the last year; it replaces Google Drive and Dropbox.
- 4
VaultwardenFeatured
Lightweight Bitwarden server API implementation written in Rust.
Password ManagersDockerStands out for its Rust codebase. Top pick for password managers: Vaultwarden has 69,807 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 217 commits in the last year; it replaces Bitwarden and 1Password.
- 5
Home AssistantFeatured
Home automation platform.
Home Automation & IoTDockerStands out for the most commits in the last 12 months (21,554). Top pick for home automation & IoT: Home Assistant has 91,788 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 21,554 commits in the last year; it replaces Nest / SmartThings and Google Home.
- 6
Pi-hole
Blackhole for Internet advertisements with a GUI for management and monitoring.
Network Utilities & DNSDockerTop pick for network utilities & DNS: Pi-hole has 61,521 GitHub stars, uses the EUPL-1.2 license, ships a Docker image and had 333 commits in the last year.
- 7
Grafana
Dashboards and visualization for metrics, logs and traces from Prometheus, Loki and dozens of other sources.
Monitoring & Status PagesDockerTop pick for personal dashboards: Grafana has 77,561 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 11,934 commits in the last year; it replaces Datadog and Grafana Cloud.
- 8
Coolify
Self-hostable Heroku, Netlify and Vercel alternative that deploys apps, databases and services to your servers.
Self-hosting PlatformsDockerTop pick for self-hosting platforms: Coolify has 65,110 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 5,095 commits in the last year; it replaces Heroku and Vercel.
- 9
Duplicati
Free backup software that stores encrypted, incremental backups on cloud storage and servers.
BackupDockerTop pick for backup: Duplicati has 15,172 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 2,792 commits in the last year.
- 10
Navidrome Music Server
Modern Music Server and Streamer, compatible with Subsonic/Airsonic.
Music StreamingDockerTop pick for music streaming: Navidrome Music Server has 24,411 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 837 commits in the last year; it replaces Spotify and Audible.
- 11
Audiobookshelf
Audiobook and podcast server. It streams all audio formats, keeps and syncs progress across devices. Comes with apps for Android and iOS.
Music StreamingDockerTop pick for e-books: Audiobookshelf has 14,823 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 505 commits in the last year; it replaces Spotify and Audible.
- 12
Karakeep
Bookmark-everything app with a touch of AI for the data hoarders out there.
Bookmarks & Link SharingDockerAI-nativeTop pick for bookmarks & link sharing: Karakeep has 30,112 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 938 commits in the last year; it replaces Pocket.
Is Jellyfin free?
Yes. Jellyfin is open-source software released under the GPL-2.0 license, so you can self-host it at no cost. You only pay for the server it runs on, and some projects also offer an optional paid cloud plan.
Can I self-host these apps with Docker?
Yes, all of them. Jellyfin, Immich and Syncthing publish Docker images, so you can run them on a VPS or home server with Docker Compose.
Are all of these apps open source?
All 12 apps on this list are open source. You can self-host and modify each one under its license.
Which of these apps is the most actively developed?
Home Assistant, with 21,554 commits in the last 12 months and a latest release, 2026.10.4, from October 2026. Activity is a good sign that bugs and security issues get fixed.
How is this list ranked?
One pick per category: the top-ranked app in each on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits. Projects with fewer than 12 commits in the last 12 months rank below every more active project.
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